Auto-Detection of Devices on a Multi-Wire Irrigation Control System

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/438,334 filed Feb. 9, 2024, entitled AUTO-DETECTION OF DEVICES ON A MULTI-WIRE IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND AUTO-ASSIGNMENT OF RECEIVERS TO IRRIGATION ZONES (Attorney Docket No. 8473-159300-US), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/744,148 filed May 13, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,925,149, entitled AUTO-DETECTION OF DEVICES ON A MULTI-WIRE IRRIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM AND AUTO-ASSIGNMENT OF RECEIVERS TO IRRIGATION ZONES (Attorney Docket No. 8473-153435-US), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/188,997 filed May 14, 2021, entitled AUTO-DETECTION OF DEVICES ON A MULTI-WIRE IRRIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM AND AUTO-ASSIGNMENT OF RECEIVERS TO IRRIGATION ZONES (Attorney Docket No. 8473-152222-US), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This invention relates generally to irrigation control systems using multi-wire control paths, and more specifically, to irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire control paths.

Generally, decoder-based irrigation systems use a two-wire path (a single pair of wires) extending into a landscape to interface a large number of solenoids to a controller using less wiring relative to a discrete wire path to each solenoid. A controller or interface unit outputs a modulated power signal on the two-wire path to power and control the devices connected to the two-wire path. Decoders connect to the two-wire path at various locations in parallel to each other. Decoders derive their operational power from the modulated power signal and decode to data modulated on the power signal to receive commands and messages. Each decoder has a unique device address that can be addressed so that multiple decoders can be controlled on the “party-line” two-wire path. These unique addresses are often printed on labels of the decoders as a series of numbers and/or represented as printed bar codes. The controller or interface unit addresses individual decoders by their unique address to be able to individually control a given solenoid connected to a decoder. Typical decoder-based systems have tens or hundreds of decoders connected to the two-wire path with digital addresses ranging into the tens of thousands or even higher. In order to address and control these decoders, the unique addresses of the connected decoders need to be programmed or entered into the controller, and stored in a lookup table. Decoder addresses are often written or typed on a listing by an installer and then manually entered in the controller. For example, using the user interface of the controller (buttons, dials, display screen) or using the user interface of a computer (keyboard, mouse, monitor) or other device if the irrigation controller is implemented on a computer. The manual process of address entry is time consuming and error prone. Addresses may also be read from bar codes by an optical reader and then transferred to the controller. Such optical reading is likewise time consuming since a reader must be brought to the decoders or the decoders are brought to the scanner before installation. Additionally, since decoders are frequently buried underground after installation, there are times that a decoder needs to be dug up to verify a digital address if an error occurs.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments”, “an implementation”, “some implementations”, “some applications”, or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” “in some embodiments”, “in some implementations”, and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful for automatic detection of irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path irrigation system and/or for automatic assignment of irrigation devices to irrigation zones. In some embodiments, an irrigation control unit for use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system includes a modulator that provides an output power signal modulated with data. The irrigation control unit includes a multi-wire interface coupled to the modulator and configured to electrically couple to the multi-wire path extending into a landscape and to which the irrigation devices are connected. Each irrigation device has a unique address. Moreover, each irrigation device may derive operational power from an output power signal and demodulate the modulated data in the output power signal. The irrigation control unit further includes a control circuit coupled to the modulator. The control circuit may execute an automated device discovery process that causes a modulator to modulate data including a discovery message on the output power signal. The discovery message indicates a portion of an address to match and prompts a response from one or more of irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the portion of the address to match.

In some embodiments, an irrigation control unit for use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system including a modulator that provides an output power signal modulated with data. The irrigation control unit includes a multi-wire interface coupled to the modulator and is configured to electrically couple to the multi-wire path extending into a landscape and to which the irrigation devices are connected. The irrigation devices each having a unique address and derives operational power from the output power signal and demodulates the data. The irrigation control unit includes a control circuit coupled to the modulator and executes an automated device discovery process. The automated device discovery process may cause the modulator to modulate data including iterations of discovery messages on the output power signal. In some embodiments, each discovery message indicates a respective portion of an address to match and prompts a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the respective portion of the address to match. In some embodiments, the responses to each iteration of the discovery message result in a modification of the respective portion of the address to match for subsequent discovery messages.

In some embodiments, a method for use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system includes providing, by a modulator of an irrigation control unit of the irrigation system, an output power signal modulated with data. The method may include executing, by a control circuit of the irrigation control unit, an automated device discovery process to cause the modulator to modulate data including a discovery message on the output power signal. The discovery message may indicate a portion of an address to match and prompt a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the portion of the address to match. The method may include providing, by the control circuit via a multi-wire interface, the modulated data over the multi-wire path that extends into a landscape and to which the irrigation devices are connected. Each irrigation device has a unique address and derives operational power from the output power signal and demodulates the data.

In some embodiments, an irrigation control unit for use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system includes a control circuit and an application including computer program code configured to be executed by the control circuit to perform steps. The steps include obtaining a listing of unique addresses not already assigned to irrigation zones. Each unique address may correspond to a respective one of the irrigation devices. The irrigation devices may be connected to a multi-wire path of an irrigation system. The steps may include assigning each unique address of the listing of unique addresses sequentially to available irrigation zones.

In some embodiments, a method for use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system includes executing, by a control circuit of an irrigation control unit of the irrigation system, a computer program code of an application to perform steps including obtaining a listing of unique addresses not already assigned to irrigation zones. Each unique address can correspond to a respective one of the irrigation devices The irrigation devices can be connected to a multi-wire path of an irrigation system. The method includes assigning each unique address of the listing of unique addresses sequentially to available irrigation zones.

The description provides various descriptions and examples for automatic detection of irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path irrigation system and/or for automatic assignment of irrigation devices to irrigation zones. Initially, supporting details and descriptions of various decoder-based irrigation systems are described with reference to. Various embodiments of automatic detection of irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path irrigation system are described with reference to. And various embodiments of automatic assignment of irrigation devices to irrigation zones are described with reference to.

In, a simplified block diagram of an exemplary central control-based irrigation systemis shown. By one approach, a central control-based irrigation systemincludes a computer, although in a central control system, it is understood that the computercan be a computer, a computer system, a mobile computer device, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a server or a server system, for example. The computermay be at the irrigation site (landscape) or may be remote from the irrigation site. The computerhas central control irrigation control software installed thereon that can create and/or execute all irrigation schedules and programming. Often, the computergenerates schedules for hundreds of irrigation stations or zones in the field. In some configurations, the computeris coupled to one or more field interface devices or irrigation control units.illustrates an irrigation control unit. The computermay be coupled to the irrigation control unitthrough various types of wired and/or wireless local area networks and/or wide area networks. The irrigation control unitis the interface to the local irrigation devicesin the field, such as decoders, receivers, sprinklers, sensors and so on. In a decoder-based system, the irrigation control unitincludes an encoder or a modulator and a multi-wire output interface that electrically couple to a multi-wire path(e.g., a two-wire path) that extends from the irrigation control unitinto the field. The multi-wire pathcan extend tens or hundreds of meters in the landscape. The multi-wire pathis typically a two-wire path; however, it is understood that this path may be a three or more wire path. The irrigation control unitreceives irrigation commands and/or irrigation schedules from the computer, and uses the encoder/modulator to encode or modulate data from these commands and/or schedules onto an output power signal that is applied to the multi-wire path. The output power signal provides power and control signaling over the multi-wire pathto irrigation devicesconnected to the multi-wire path. As is common, various irrigation devices(e.g., decoders, receivers, and so on) connected to the multi-wire pathat different locations in the field. These irrigation devicesreceive the output power signal and derive their operational power and decode or demodulate the data on the signal to determine if the data from the signal is intended for the particular device or not, and if it is, the device takes any action indicated by the data. For example, if the computerintends that a given irrigation deviceis to cause irrigation, the output power signal is modulated with data to address the given irrigation deviceand provide a turn on command. The given irrigation devicedecodes or demodulates data on the multi-wire pathand decodes or demodulates the turn on command. The irrigation devicethen causes an electrically actuated solenoid valve connected to (or integrated with) the irrigation device to open allowing water to flow through the valve to the sprinkler device/s in the flow path of the valve. In a typical decoder-based control system, there may be tens or hundreds of irrigation devices. Although only one multi-wire pathis shown in, it is understood that there may be more than one multi-wire path extending from the irrigation control unit.

In, a simplified block diagram of an exemplary irrigation controller-based decoder irrigation systemis shown. In this embodiment, a dedicated irrigation controller, referred to as irrigation control unit, includes all functionality to generate and execute irrigation schedules with user input. That is, the irrigation control unitincludes a user interface (e.g., rotary dial, buttons, switches, display screen, and so on) and includes programming (e.g., firmware stored in memory of the controller). Thus, in some embodiments, the functionality of the computerand irrigation control unitofmay be implemented in the irrigation control unit. For example, the irrigation control unitincludes an encoder or modulator that is configured to encode or modulate data based on the stored irrigation schedules and/or manual user commands onto an output power signal that is applied to the multi-wire path(e.g., a two-wire path as shown in). For example, the output power signal output over the multi-wire pathprovides operational power to the irrigation devices(illustrated as decoders) and/or is modulated with data in order to address and instruct the devicesaccording to the irrigation programming in the irrigation control unit. Relative to the system of,illustrates valves(e.g., latching or non-latching solenoid activated valves) coupled to the devices. The valvescontrol water flow through a pressurized water pipe to sprinkler devices. In some embodiments, the valvesare referred to as zones or stations, each having an assigned number. It is understood that there may be one or more valvescoupled to a given device. In some embodiments, the functionality of the irrigation control unit is implemented in a front panel or control module having the main control circuit board and microcontroller, and the functionality to interface with and encode signals for the multi-wire pathis provided in an encoder/modulator module that is electrically coupled to the front panel, the encoder/modulator module including the multi-wire interface connectors. A commercial example of a decoder-based irrigation controller is the Rain Bird ESP-LXD Series Two-Wire Decoder Controller, commercially available from Rain Bird Corporation of Azusa, California, United States. See also, U.S. Publication No. US2020/0100440, published Apr. 2, 2020, entitled IRRIGATION CONTROLLER WITH RELAYS (Docket No. 8473-147633-US), which describes various decoder-based irrigation controllers and is incorporated herein by reference. And see also, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/175,372, filed Feb. 12, 2021, entitled DATA MODULATED SIGNAL GENERATION IN A MULTI-WIRE IRRIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM, (Docket No. 8473-150383-US), which describes various decoder-based irrigation controllers and data modulation approaches and is incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments, a user interface of the exemplary irrigation controller-based decoder irrigation systemis implemented at least in part at a device remote from the irrigation control unitand in communication with the control unit. For example, at least portions of the user interface are implemented by a mobile applicationinstalled on and executed by a mobile electronic devicesuch as a mobile phone or tablet. When executed, the mobile applicationcauses the mobile electronic deviceto wirelessly communicate with the irrigation control unithaving a wireless transceiver. This communication may be direct between the mobile electronic deviceand the irrigation control unit(e.g., using Bluetooth or WiFi), and/or may be via one or more intermediary devices(such as servers, routers, repeaters, network devices, cellular communication systems, local area networks, and so on). The mobile applicationprovides a control interface to the user via the user interface of the mobile electronic device(e.g., using a touch sensitive display screen, buttons, voice input, etc.). In such embodiments, the mobile applicationand the mobile electronic deviceprovide and include all functionality to receive user input and commands used to generate and execute irrigation schedules. In some embodiments, the user interface may be entirely implemented via the mobile applicationand mobile electronic devicesuch that a user interface (rotary dial, buttons, switches, display screen, and so on) for user input is not needed at the control unit. Further, it is understood that in some embodiments, the irrigation control unitofmay similarly communicate with a mobile application of a mobile electronic device to receive some or all of the input needed to generate and execute irrigation schedules.

In known decoder-based control systems, there are various ways to encode or modulate data onto the signal that is applied to a two-wire path. Many approaches involve modulating one or more of the amplitude, phase, and frequency of an alternating current (AC) power signal. For, example, many known approaches selectively clip an amplitude of the power signal in order to encode data bits on the power signal. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 8,260,465, issued Sep. 4, 2012, entitled DATA COMMUNICATION IN A MULTI-WIRE IRRIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM (Docket No. 8473-92008-US), and U.S. application Ser. No. 17/175,372 referred to above, both of which describe various data modulation techniques and are incorporated herein by reference.

In accordance with several embodiments, circuits, systems and methods are provided to produce an output power signal for the multi-wire path.provide different examples of devices that use a modulator to provide an output power signal that is modulated with data. In some embodiments, an input power signal is converted into a DC voltage, which is used to generate an AC signal modulated with data. For example, referring next to, a simplified block diagram is shown of an exemplary irrigation systemthat includes an irrigation control unitincluding an encoder (encoder circuit) that generates an output power signal that is applied to the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the irrigation control unitmay correspond to the irrigation control unitand/or the dedicated irrigation control unit. By one approach, the irrigation control unitincludes an encoderhaving an AC to DC converter, a control circuitand a signal generator(which can be more generically referred to as a modulator). In some embodiments, an input AC power signal sourceis coupled to the AC to DC converterwhich outputs a DC voltage. In one configuration, the input AC signal sourcemay provide a 120 VAC signal and/or 240 VAC signal at 50 Hz and/or 60 Hz. It is understood that the characteristics of the signal from the input AC signal sourcewill depend on the power source and can have any suitable voltage level and frequency. It is further understood that the signal from the input AC signal sourcemay be a power signal input into the irrigation control unit(e.g., from the wall) or may be a stepped down or transformed power signal. The DC voltageoutput by the AC to DC converteris input to the signal generator. For example, the DC voltage may be at any suitable level, such as at 24, 40, 48 volts DC. The value of the DC voltage will vary depending on the requirements of the system.

The AC to DC converteris coupled to a control circuitwhich is also coupled to the signal generator. The control circuitis a processor-based device including one or more processors, and operates with one or more integrated or connected memories. The control circuitand the memory may be integrated together, such as in a microcontroller, application specification integrated circuit, field programmable gate array or other such device, or may be separate devices coupled together. Generally, the control circuitcan comprise a fixed-purpose hard-wired platform or can comprise a partially or wholly programmable platform. These architectural options are well known and understood in the art and require no further description here. And generally, the control circuitis configured (for example, by using corresponding software and/or firmware programming as will be well understood by those skilled in the art) to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functions described herein. For example, in some embodiments, the control circuitcontrols operation of the encoderand/or the irrigation control unit, and outputs signaling to the signal generatorto control the waveform of the output power signalprovided to the multi-wire path.

In some embodiments, under control by the control circuit, the signal generatorcreates a modulated output signal having any desired signal characteristics or modulation technique. The output power signalis coupled to the multi-wire pathat a multi-wire path connector or multi-wire interface. In some embodiments, the output power signalprovides operational power to the irrigation devices (e.g., decoders) coupled to the multi-wire path, in such case, the output power signal may also be referred to as an AC power signal. In some embodiments, the output power signalis modulated with data but does not provide operational power, i.e., the devices connected to the multi-wire path receive their operational power in other ways, such as through battery power or connection to a different power supply.

One or more irrigation control devices are connected to the multi-wire pathat variously locations about the length of the path. As illustrated in, these irrigation control devices are shown as decoders(which may also be referred to as demodulators or receivers). The decodersderive operational power from the received signal and decode the data from the signal to determine if they are addressed and receive and execute any received commands. In some embodiments, the decoderscorresponds to irrigation devicesofand/or.

Depending on the signaling output from the control circuit, the output power signalprovided by the signal generatormay be modulated in any number of ways. In some embodiments, the output power signal is one or more of amplitude, frequency, and phase modulated with data.

In some embodiments, the output power signal is frequency modulated. For example, in some embodiments, the signal generatorcreates a signal in which the frequency of one or more cycles of the signal is selectively changed to modulate data bits on the signal, e.g., using a frequency shift keying modulation. For example, as controlled by the control circuit, the signal generatorselectively changes the frequency of each cycle of the AC signal (at the start of each cycle) to one of two or more values, e.g., 55 and 65 Hz, thereby outputting a modulated output power signalover the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the decodersdetermine whether each cycle is at 55 Hz and/or 65 Hz to extract the corresponding 1 or 0 data bit. In an illustrative non-limiting example, by using frequencies close to 60 Hz, the modulated signal may power the decodersand any connected irrigation components, such as latching or non-latching solenoids, sensors, and so on.

In some embodiments, the output power signal is phase modulated. For example, in some embodiments, the signal generatormay create a signal in which the phase of one or more cycles of the signal is selectively changed to modulate data bits on the signal. For example, as controlled by the control circuit, the signal generatorselectively changes the phase of each cycle of the output power signal (at the start of each cycle) to be in phase or out of phase thereby outputting a modulated output power signalover the multi-wire path.

Referring next to, a simplified block diagram is shown of an exemplary irrigation systemthat includes an irrigation control unitincluding an encoder(encoder circuit) that modulates and provides an output power signal that is applied to the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the irrigation control unitmay correspond to the irrigation control unitand/or the dedicated irrigation control unit. By one approach, the irrigation control unitincludes an encoderhaving a control circuitand a signal modulator(which, like the signal generator, can be more generically referred to as a modulator). In some embodiments, the input AC power signal sourceprovides the input power signalto the signal modulator. In one configuration, the input AC signalmay be a 120 VAC signal and/or 240 VAC signal at 50 Hz and/or 60 Hz. It is understood that the characteristics of the input AC signalwill depend on the power source and can have any suitable voltage level and frequency. It is further understood that the input AC signalmay be a power signal input into the irrigation control unit(e.g., from the wall) or may be a stepped down or transformed power signal.

The control circuitwill be powered by a rectified and stepped down DC signal obtained from the input AC signaland is coupled to and controls the signal modulator. The control circuitcontrols operation of the encoderand/or the irrigation control unit, and outputs signaling to the signal modulatorcausing it to modulate the input AC signalto resulting in the output power signalprovided to the multi-wire pathvia a multi-wire path connector or multi-wire interface. Like that described in, the output power signalprovides operational power to the irrigation devices (e.g., decoders) coupled to the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the output power signalis modulated with data but does not provide operational power, i.e., the devices connected to the multi-wire path receive their operational power in other ways, such as through battery power or connection to a different power supply. Depending on the signaling output from the control circuit, the output power signalprovided by the signal modulatormay be modulated in any number of ways. In some embodiments, the output power signal is one or more of amplitude, frequency, and phase modulated with data. However, in contrast to the signal generatorof, the signal modulatordoes not generate the output power signal. It modulates the input power signal to provide the output power signal. Further, while not shown in, the encodersmay also include one or more switches or relays (such as solid state relays (SSRs), e.g., reed relay coupled SSR, transformer coupled SSR, photo-coupled SSR, among other type of SSRs that are commercially available) that couple or connect the output power signal to the multi-wire interface. And similarly, while not shown in, there may be more than one multiple-wire interface configured to couple to multiple multi-wire paths, such as described in U.S. Publication No. US2020/0100440, referred to above and is incorporated herein by reference.

In the exemplary embodiment of, output power signalis modulated with data by encoding each cycle of the output power signal with one of two frequencies to represent data bits. Each cycle of the output power signal is modulated to be either at a first frequency (see first cycle) or at a second frequency (see second cycle). As illustrated, the first cycleis at a higher frequency (the first frequency) than the second cycle(the second frequency). Alternatively, in some embodiments, the second cycleis at a higher frequency than the second cycle. As can be seen, in these embodiments, the first cyclerepresents a logic 0 and the second cyclerepresents a logic 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the signal protocol includes a preamble, a data sync portion, a data portion, an idle sync portion, an idle portion, and a postamble. In some embodiments, the decoder may not be powered on as shown inwhere zero voltage is applied to the path. During the start of power/data transmission, the preambleis sent as a number of the first cycles to provide the decoder and/or the irrigation devices time to power up and/or activate before it is time to decode data. Next, a sync portionhaving a known sequence of modulated cycles is provided to indicate the start of data transmission. For example, in some embodiments, during a first period of time, one or more cycles of the waveform are modulated at one or more first frequencies to synchronize a start of the modulated data portion of the waveform. Next, the data portionis provided that includes a series of cycles modulated as either cycleorto transmit data bits (and data bytes) to the decoder. For example, in some embodiments, during a second period, the output power signal is modulated such that one or more cycles of the output power signal are at one or more second frequencies to create the modulated data portion. In some embodiments, the second frequencies can be the same as the first frequencies, can have one or more frequencies in common or can be different frequencies. In some embodiments, the encoded data in the modulated data portion can represent one or more of a first instruction to activate one or more irrigation devices and a second instruction to deactivate the one or more irrigation devices. There may also be periods of no data transmission shown by the idle portion. In some embodiments, the period of time provided by the idle portionis a period of time that the irrigation control unitofand/or the dedicated irrigation control unitofhave allotted to receive a response from one or more decodersand/or irrigation devices. For example, in some embodiments, there may be one or more periods within the modulated data portion where the output power signal is modulated such that one or more cycles of the output power signal are at one or more first frequencies to separate data content of the modulated data portion. If data transmission is to resume, another data sync portionand data portionare provided.

If no further data transmission is needed, the idle portionis followed by the postamble, and then the signal is no longer applied to the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the postambleresembles the idle portionwith the exception of the data sync portionthat precedes the idle portion. For example, in some embodiments, the output AC signal is modulated such that one or more cycles of the output power signal are at the one or more first frequencies to synchronize an end of the modulated data portion of the output power signal. Given that each cycle of the power signal is modulated to one of two frequencies, the decoding circuitry need only detect the timing of zero crossings to determine the frequency of a given cycle, and thus, the data bit represented by the cycle. In some embodiments, one or more frequencies are used for modulating data in the data portion (e.g., the one or more second frequencies) and at least one different frequency is used in the portions of the waveform that serve to frame (sync and/or end) or separate the data portion. Further variations of frequency modulation of the output power signal are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 17/175,372 referred to above, and which is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring now to, an exemplary data packet formatis shown of a message encoded in an output power signal of an exemplary irrigation control unit in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the irrigation control unit may correspond to the irrigation control unitof, the dedicated irrigation control unitof, and/or the irrigation control unitandof.shows exemplary codeword fields/formatof an encoded output power signal in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, information is sent across a multi-wire path(e.g., a two-wire path) in 16-bit codewords (which may be referred to generically as signals) that correspond to either an idle pattern or an 8-bit data byte. For example, the exemplary output power signal shown inis sent over the multi-wire pathin 16-bit codewords (e.g., in, the data portionis a 16-bit codeword and the idle portionis another 16-bit codeword). As shown in the codeword fieldsalong with the explanation in exemplary tableof, the first two bits of each codeword provide a synchronization preamblethat allows both codeword alignment and idle detection. The remaining 14 bits include either all zero bits (for an idle codeword) or two Hamming encoded data nibbles (for a data codeword, which is also referred to or described herein as encoded modulated data or message).

The Hamming-encoded nibbles are interleaved within the codeword to provide better error correction in the presence of two consecutive bit errors. For example, bit errors may typically come in pairs given the use of zero-cross timing analysis to demodulate the bit stream on the multi-wire path. By one approach, if the timing on one bit is incorrectly determined, this may affect both that bit and the following bit since the start time of the following bit is, by definition, the end time of the preceding bit. As such, this may result in bit error pairs that manifest as either (1,0) or (0,1) pairs. Thus, interleaving spreads the consecutive bit errors over the two separately-encoded nibbles, such that each nibble suffers a single bit error, which can be corrected by the Hamming decoding. It is understood by those skilled in the art that other error detection schemes other than the Hamming codes may be used to detect and/or correct errors in data transmitted over a multi-wire path. Moreover, the determination and/or calculation of the Hamming parity bits in the tableis known in the art and will not be described herein in details.

In some embodiments, a bit error in the synchronization preamble for codewords within a message may be allowed due to codeword alignment to the idle pattern, which allows the irrigation control unit to carry that alignment forward into following codewords even in the presence of bit errors in the synchronization preamble. In such an embodiment, the receiver (e.g., irrigation device) may determine that the codeword is valid if at least one of the preamble bits is a one. Alternatively and/or in addition to, the receiver (e.g., irrigation device) may determine that a loss of synchronization has occurred if both bits of the synchronization preamble are zero. In some embodiments, one or more irrigation devices receiving the codewords transmitted by the irrigation control unit may discard the received idle codewords and decode the data codewords into message bytes.

In, the exemplary data packet formatillustrates the format of the data/message sent over the multi-wire path. The data packet starts with a one byte headerdefining the message protocoland the length of the packet payload. The protocol fieldidentifies the format of the embedded payload data. In some embodiments, the discovery protocoland/or certain command messagessupport feedback from irrigation devices. This feedback may occur during IDLE codewords (e.g., feedback portionsof) sent immediately following the data packet triggering the feedback.

In some embodiments, in order to address the irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in these decoder-based irrigation systems, the unique addresses of the irrigation devices are to be known at the irrigation control unit,or at the computerif it is creating the messages/commands to be modulated on the output power signal. It is time consuming and error prone to manually enter these addresses into the computeror the irrigation control unit. Further, an installer may need to gather all devices in one location to record addresses, or may need to walk the landscape while recording addresses, and may even need to unearth installed devices to record addresses. Further, the process of typing or entering addresses at a computer is tedious and error prone. And in controller-based systems, like the irrigation control unit, the user interface at the irrigation control unitis often very limited. For example, there may only be a few keys/buttons and a limited display space. Entering more than even a few addresses in such interfaces is challenging. Even if addresses are optically read and transferred to the irrigation control unitor the computer, it is still time consuming to scan the addresses, and may involve going to the site of installed devices and unearthing them to read addresses.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided for automatic detection of irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path irrigation system. Such embodiments provide that irrigation devices are installed in the field and connected to the multi-wire path. The irrigation control unit then executes an automated device discovery process that will determine the unique addresses of the irrigation devices connected to the two-wire path. In some embodiments, this avoids the need to record or scan/read any addresses from the irrigations and avoids the need to transfer or enter the addresses into the irrigation control unit and/or computer. And in some embodiments, since there is not manual recording and entry, human error is removed. Further, in some embodiments, the process or discovering addresses is considerably faster than traditional approaches. In some embodiments, the automatic device discovery process can be executed when devices are installed, and can be re-executed as new devices are added and old devices are removed. In some embodiments, an automatic device discovery process is executed by a control circuit of the irrigation control unit. In some embodiments, the automated device discovery process may be initiated and/or controlled by a computer (e.g., computercoupled to the irrigation control unit).

In some embodiments, a control circuit performs an automated device discovery process via the discovery protocol. By one approach, a reference to a control circuit described herein may correspond to the control circuitsofand/or one or more control circuits associated with the irrigation control unitof, the dedicated irrigation control unit, and/or irrigation control unit. By another approach, a reference to an irrigation control unit described herein may correspond to the irrigation control unitof, the dedicated irrigation control unitof, and/or irrigation control unitsandof.

Referring next to, a flow diagram is shown of an exemplary processof automatic discovery of addresses of irrigation devices in accordance with some embodiments. Initially, an automatic or automated device discovery process is initiated (Step). For example, the process is automatically initiated according to control programming, and/or the process is initiated by a user via user input via a user interface. In some embodiments, the functionality of the process is implemented through the execution of computer program code by a control circuit. For example, a control circuit or microcontroller executes the computer program code (e.g., as firmware) to execute the discovery process. In some embodiments, the code is stored in internal memory of the control circuit, and in other embodiments, the code is stored in a separate memory accessible by the control circuit to retrieve and execute. In some embodiments, the control circuit is part of an irrigation control unit (e.g., irrigation control units,,,) and/or part of a computer(e.g., a computer, server, mobile computer device, smart phone, tablet computer, and so on) functioning at least in part as an irrigation control unit. In some embodiments, the control circuit is coupled to and controls a modulator (e.g., the signal generatorofand the signal modulatorof) that provides a modulated output power signal to a multi-wire interface. The multi-wire interfaceis configured to be electrically coupled or connected to the multi-wire paththat extends into a landscape and to which irrigation devices are connected. In some embodiments, each irrigation device has a unique address and derives operational power from the output power signal and demodulates the data. And in some embodiments, a purpose of the automatic device discovery process is to discover or find the unique addresses of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire path without requiring addresses to be manually recorded and entered in the control unit or optically scanned and transferred to the control unit.

Once initiated, the modulator is caused (e.g., by the control circuit) to modulate data comprising a discovery message on the output power signal (Step). In some embodiments, the control circuit is coupled to and causes the modulator (e.g., the signal generatoror the signal modulator) to modulate the output power signal. In some embodiments, the discovery message indicates a portion of an address to match and prompts a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the portion of the address to match. As described herein, in some embodiments, it is understood that unique addresses need only be unique for a particular installation or multi-wire path, and need not be globally unique across all installations.illustrates an exemplary format of a discovery messagein accordance with some embodiments. For example, the discovery messageindicates a portion of an address to match (e.g., from the data in fieldand indicated by parameter portionsand) and prompts a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of a unique address matches the portion of the address to match. The discovery messagemay then be followed by one or more feedback periods of time (also referred to as feedback slots) in feedback portionsduring which irrigation devices with a matching address portion will provide feedback to indicate their presence on and connection to the multi-wire path.

The output power signal is provided or output over the multi-wire path (Step). Next, it is determined if one or more responses to the discovery message are received from one or more irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire path (Step). In some configurations, if a response is not received, the control circuit determines if another iteration of the discovery message is needed (Step). If another iteration is needed (Step), then the control circuit causes the modulator to modulate a next iteration of the discovery message on the output power signal (Step). If another iteration is not needed (Step), this indicates that unique addresses have been found for all devices connected to the multi-wire path and the process ends (Step). Stepwill typically occur after multiple iterations depending at least on the number of devices connected and the address space to search. If response/s is/are received in Step, the response/s is/are processed (Step), e.g., to determine additional devices with matching address portions and to assist in determining a next portion of an address to match for the next iteration. Until all addresses are determined, a next iteration is needed (at Step), and the process repeats at Step.

The process ofmay be performed by the devices and systems described herein and other devices and systems. For example, control circuits implemented in the irrigation control units (e.g., irrigation control units,,,) using modulators (e.g., signal generator, signal modulator) may execute device discovery processes in some embodiments. Further details are described below and by way of examples.

In some embodiments, the control circuit executes, at step, an automated device discovery process that causes the modulator to modulate data including iterations of discovery messages (e.g., discovery messages) on the output power signal. By one approach, the discovery messages each indicate a respective portion of an address to match and prompt a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the respective portion of the address to match. In some configurations, responses to each iteration of the discovery message result in a modification of the respective portion of the address to match for subsequent discovery messages. In some embodiments, a modification corresponds to an address search covering a narrowing range of addresses to match (another recursion depth). And in some embodiments, the modification corresponds to an address search covering a broadening range of addresses to match (back a recursion depth). In some embodiments, the response from one or more of the irrigation devices indicates that the corresponding portion of the unique address matches the respective portion of the address to match.

In some embodiments, the discovery process response from the one or more of the irrigation devices occurs in a respective feedback period of time (feedback slot) corresponding to an additional portion of the unique address of the one or more of the irrigation devices. In some embodiments, the response from the one or more of the irrigation devices indicates that the corresponding portion of the unique address matches the respective portion of the address to match and indicates the additional portion of the unique address of the one or more of the irrigation devices. For example, if the discover message instructs devices matching the first 4 address bits to respond, and to respond in a feedback period of time indicated by the next 4 address bits, then a response by a device in a given feedback period of time indicates a device exists on the path in which the first 8 address bits are known. And assuming there are more than 8 bits in the address, this information indicates a range of devices that may respond. In some embodiments, this information is used to define the next bits to match in the next discover message. In some embodiments, the automated device discovery process ends when a complete address is matched for each of the one or more of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire path. In some embodiments, the automated device discovery process executed by the control circuit causes the modulator to modulate data including an initial discovery message on the output power signal to be transmitted prior to the discovery message. In some configurations, the initial discovery message may prompt a response from each of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire pathand not specify any address bits to match.

In some embodiments, the discovery messageis encoded onto the output power signal in accordance with the codeword field/formatand the table. In some embodiments, the synchronization preambleand error detection bits (e.g., Hamming parity bits) are encoded with the discovery messageonto the output power signal.

In some embodiments, the exemplary discovery messageincludes a message header portionand/or discovery parameters (a first parameter portion, a second parameter portion, and a third parameter portion). In some configurations, the discovery messagemay include a data portion defining a number of address bits in the portion of the address to match and defining a value of the address bits of the portion of the address to match. In another configurations, the discovery messagemay include a feedback portion defining a number of feedback periods of time for irrigation devices matching the portion of the address to respond. In some embodiments, the discovery parameters correspond to the payload dataof. By one approach, the message header portionmay include a protocol version fieldand a payload length field. Referring back to, the first parameter portionmay include a field for number of address bits to matchand/or a field for a number of feedback periods of time. For example, fieldmay indicate that 4 bits in the address are to be matched, and fieldmay indicate that there are 4 feedback periods of time. In some embodiments, the discovery messageincludes a first data portion (e.g., the number of address bits to match field) and a second data portion (e.g., the number of feedback slots field). The first data portion corresponds to and/or defines the portion of the address bits to match and the second data portion corresponds to feedback periods of time for each of the one or more of the irrigation devices to respond. In some embodiments, the first data portion and the second data portion define a range of addresses of irrigation devices to respond to the discovery message. In some embodiments, the first data portion defines a first set of address bits to match and a position of first set of address bits in the address (e.g., a combination of the number of address bits to match fieldand at least one of the second parameter portionand the third parameter portion). For example, the fieldtogether with portionsandindicate to match the 4 most significant bits, and they should match. The second parameter portionmay correspond to most significant address bits to match field. The third parameter portionmay correspond to least significant address bits to match field. In some embodiments, in this example discovery message, if the most significant 8 or less address bits are to be matched, the third parameter portion is not needed. For example, if only matching the most significant 4 bits being 1111, then only the second portionis populated with data. However, if it is intended to match the most significant 9 or more bits, both the second and third parameter portionsandare used. In some embodiments, the second data portion may define a set of feedback periods of time in field. In some embodiments, each feedback period of time corresponds to a second set of address bits and a position of the second set of address bits in the address. Illustrative non-limiting examples are described below in at least.

In some embodiments, a feedback period of time for use by each of the one or more of the irrigation devices depends on an additional portion of the unique address of each of the one or more of the irrigation devices, which is illustrated inand described below. In some embodiments, when a given irrigation device responds to the discovery messageduring a given feedback period of time (e.g., feedback slot) in feedback portions, the response indicates that the given irrigation device matches the first set of address bits and indicates the second set of address bits of the given irrigation device as can be seen in the recursion depthsandof. In some configurations, subsequent to the transmission of the modulated data, a control circuit may cause a modulator to transmit over the multi-wire pathone or more first idle signals (e.g., idle codewords of the feedback portions) corresponding to a feedback period of time the control circuit has allocated to receive the response from the one or more of the irrigation devices.

In yet some embodiments, subsequent to the transmission of the one or more first idle signals, the control circuit may cause the modulator to transmit over the multi-wire pathat least one synchronization signal for the irrigation devices. For example, a final idle portionis for synchronization purposes and allows the irrigation devices to re-synchronize (and be ready to receive another discovery message over the multi-wire path) after each transmission of discovery message by the control circuit. In some embodiments, after the discovery message, the feedback portionsmay be included in the modulated data to provide a period of time for feedback from the irrigation devices. Each feedback portionmay include 16 zero bits, and an irrigation device may assert feedback during the bit position corresponding by the next address bits (e.g., the four address bits that follow the match indicated in this command).

As illustrated in, an automated device discovery process executed by a control circuit may detect one or more responses from the one or more of the irrigation devices in which the corresponding portion of the unique address matches the portion of the address to match. The control circuit may determine, based on the detected one or more responses, a next portion of the address to match. Alternatively or in addition to, the control circuit may cause the modulator to modulate data including a next discovery messageon the output power signal. In some embodiments, the next discovery messageindicates the next portion of the address to match and prompts a next response from at least one of the one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the next portion of the address to match. In some embodiments, the next portion of the address to match may include the portion of the address to match having already been matched together with another portion of the address to match, such that a narrower range of addresses is targeted by the next discovery message. And in some embodiments, the next portion of the address to match may include another portion of the address to match (e.g., that does not include the prior portion to match), such that a broader range of addresses is targeted by the next discovery message.

In some embodiments, an automated device discovery process executed by the control circuit causes the modulator to modulate data including idle portions on the output power signal subsequent to the discovery message. By one approach, the idle portions may correspond to feedback periods of time for the irrigation devices to respond. The control circuit may detect one or more responses from the one or more of the irrigation devices in one or more of the feedback periods of time. By one approach, the one or more responses may indicate a presence of irrigation devices on the multi-wire path having unique addresses matching the portion of the address to match. In some embodiments, the idle portions includes unmodulated signals.

In some embodiments, any irrigation device having a unique address matching the portion of the address to match may respond during a given one of the feedback periods of time by drawing current from the multi-wire pathduring the given one of the feedback periods of time. By one approach, the automated device discovery process executed by the control circuit may detect current drawn during the given one of the feedback periods of time and interpret the current drawn as a response from an irrigation device having a unique address matching the portion of the address to match. For example,illustrates a simplified block diagram of an exemplary decoderthat would couple to a multi-wire pathin accordance with some embodiments. For example, the decodermay provide feedback by connecting a shunt resistor Racross the multi-wire path, which may cause a current increase that can be detected by a control circuit at the irrigation control unit. The diode Dcan prevent an inadvertent discharging of the capacitor Cwhen the shunt resistor Ris connected across the multi-wire pathvia an activation of the switch by a microcontroller of the decoder. One or more irrigation devices may assert this feedback during a specific bit (cycle and/or period) time corresponding to the portion of their address immediately following the address bits matched by the discovery message. The number of address bits contributing to the feedback bit position may be determined by the number of partitions N specified in the discovery message(e.g., the portion for number of address bits to match). In some embodiments, an encoder (e.g., the encoder) of an irrigation control unit includes a current measure circuitcoupled to an H-Bridge circuitthat can sense and measure the current being drawn by irrigation devices (e.g., the decoder) on the multi-wire path, e.g., in order to detect whether a decoder responded to the discovery message. The current measure circuitprovides an output to a microcontroller(or a control circuit). Additional details of the decodercan be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 17/175,372 referred to above and which is incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments, an automated device discovery process executed by the control circuit determines that no responses are provided by any of the irrigation devices in response to the discovery message. By one approach, the control circuit may determine a next portion of the address to match and/or cause the modulator to modulate data including a next discovery message on the output power signal. The next discovery message may indicate the next portion of the address to match and prompt a response from at least one of the one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the next portion of the address to match.

In some embodiments, an automated device discovery process executed by the control circuit may cause the modulator to modulate data including an initial discovery message on the output power signal to be transmitted prior to the discovery message. By one approach, the initial discovery message may prompt a response from each of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire path. In some configurations, the initial discovery message may prompt the response from each of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire pathin a respective one of a plurality of feedback periods of time. In some configurations, the automated device discovery process may end when a complete address is matched for each of the one or more of the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire pathafter multiple iterations of the discovery messagebeing sent. In some embodiments, each iteration indicates a respective portion of the address to match and prompts a respective response from the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the respective portion of the address to match.

To illustrate,show an illustrative non-limiting example of the message format ofand exemplary process for automatic discovery of addresses of irrigation devices of, respectively, in accordance with some embodiments. A first tableofprovides a logical view of the discovery messageon the multi-wire pathbefore codeword expansion and modulation as explained in. A second tableinshows the modulated bits in the first tableafter codeword expansion, as sent by the control circuitand/or the irrigation control unit,,,over the multi-wire path. The letter “H” corresponds to the determined and/or calculated corresponding Hamming parity bits. The first parameter portionof the first tableindicates that there are 2 feedback slots for a total of 16 feedback bits as shown in the feedback portions. In some embodiments, the feedback bit position for an irrigation device is defined by the address bits immediately following the matching address bits shown in the most significant address bits to matchof the first table. In this example, the matching address bits are in bit positionsthrough(which is the hex value of F or binary 1111) as shown in the most significant address bits to matchin. The feedback bit position is determined by the irrigation device's address bits 11 through 8 (which is the hex value of 0 or binary 0000) as shown in the most significant address bits to matchin.

For example,shows an exemplary explanatory tableof feedback slot assignment in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, it is intended to match the first 4 bits (1111) and the next 4 bits in the address will indicate which feedback period of time to respond, such that when a response is detected, the irrigation control unit will learn the first 8 bits of the responding device/s. To illustrate, at row, an irrigation device that has an address that falls in the address range 0xF000(1111 0000 0000 0000 in binary) through 0xF0FF(1111 0000 1111 1111 in binary) may indicate a response by providing a “1” in the bit 0 location of the feedback slots. The bit 0 location is determined by the irrigation device's address bits 0000 in bit locations 11 through 8, which are the four additional bits after the four matching bits (e.g., 1111).